If I Had a Sight & Sound Ballot

Sight and Sound releases a Top Ten Films of All-Time list every ten years and, lucky us!, this is that year. I believe ballots are still being tallied, but the results should be out soon. Here's where you can check out historical results of the poll.

I'm not in the business on commenting on this sort of thing. I'm in the business of stealing ideas. So, with that, I'm bringing to you my list of greatest films of all-time. There are a few considerations I'm going to have to make. Obviously, just because a movie is a favorite of mine, doesn't mean that it's necessarily one of the most accomplished movies ever (sorry The Brothers Solomon). Also, there are many lauded films that I simply don't believe are that good (hello most of Woody Allen's filmography). Perhaps most significantly, a lot of films that are deemed "classics" I haven't seen that many times. It's hard for me to vote for The Godfather or 8 1/2 when I've only seen them once. Also, I don't believe in limiting filmmakers to one spot. If they have two of the best movies, then there's nothing I can do but include it (as of now, I haven't made my list so I don't know if that will be an issue).

Away we go (that movie doesn't make the list)! Judge me appropriately. And as always, I reserve the right to change my list at any time.

1. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb -- Stanley Kubrick
My default for favorite movie ever. And my buddy Paul just introduced me to this epic trailer:


2. The General -- Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman

3. Rear Window -- Alfred Hitchcock

4. Lawrence of Arabia -- David Lean
Remarkably, it doesn't feel remotely 3.5 hours long. Also features some of the best cuts in film history. How I yearn to see a 70mm print...


5. Alien -- Ridley Scott

6. M  -- Fritz Lang


7. Brazil -- Terry Gilliam

8. The Exorcist -- William Friedkin

9. 12 Angry Men -- Sidney Lumet

10. La grande illusion -- Jean Renoir

Redheads as Villains

A few months ago, it felt like everywhere I turned, someone was talking about redheads*. Redheads were being bullied:




Sperm banks were shutting us out and redheads kept popping up in movies I was watching as villains. So, with all of this negative redhead content in my mind, I thought it'd be fun to make a list of movies that feature a redhead as the villain (or a villain). I'm sure I've missed a bunch, so feel free to add to the list in the comments. In no particular order:

The Incredibles

Ghostbusters
Children of the Corn

The Iron Giant
Ferris Bueller
       -- Honestly, I could probably just load this list up with Jeffrey Jones appearances, but I'll leave it at one. Same goes for William Atherton in Ghostbusters.
A Christmas Story

House II: The Second Story
Batman Forever

*I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge how weird it is that we call them "redheads." We don't call people "blond heads" or "brunette heads" and "black heads**" has an entirely different meaning. Red heads are already set aside as other just by the way we refer them.


**Honestly, I'm not really sure what you call someone with black hair. I'm going to call them "noirs" from now on.

Bands Whose Appeal I Don't Understand

This isn't a list of bands I hate. I've covered that before. This is a list (and just a list, so no dull paragraphs explaining why) of bands who I don't get why people love them. You'll find many, if not all, on lists of greatest bands/artists of all-time. I'll leave it up to you to explain why I'm wrong and should embrace your act of choice. In particular order:

Prince

Bob Marley

Steely Dan

Beastie Boys

The Eagles (OK... so this one is a band I hate)

Joni Mitchell

John Mellencamp

LCD Soundsystem

The Smiths/Morrissey

Weezer